EU, Germany express concern over Israel’s new death penalty law
Israeli violence against Palestinians has killed at least 18 people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank over the past week.
At the same time, Israel’s parliament passed a bill that will instruct military courts to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis in acts of “terror” – but will not impose the same penalty on Jewish Israelis convicted of killing Palestinians.
Now the EU and Germany – a steadfast Israel supporter – have spoken out against the law.
“This is a clear step backwards,” a European Commission spokesperson said at a briefing. “We call [on] Israel to abide by its previous principled position, its obligation under international law and its commitment to democratic principles.”
A German government spokesperson said Germany could not endorse the decision and viewed the new law “with great concern”.
Israel seeks control of southern Lebanon up to Litani River, says Katz
Israel plans to set up a buffer zone inside southern Lebanon and maintain control of the entire area up to the Litani River, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has told local media.
He added that the 600,000 residents of southern Lebanon who have been forced to flee would not be able to return until the safety of northern Israel is guaranteed. All homes near the border would be destroyed, he said.
Israel has barraged southern Lebanon in recent weeks, including attacking bridges over the Litani in an operation Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called a “prelude to ground invasion”.
Israeli drone strikes kill 4 people in southern Lebanon
Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that Israeli drone attacks have killed four people in southern Lebanon. A strike on a car in the al-Wasita al-Qasimiyeh area near Tyre killed two people while another raid on Derikifa killed two more people.
First responders work on the rubble of a building targeted by an Israeli air raid in the southern Lebanese village of Hanaway, east of Tyre, on March 30
